Every year about this time, we start seeing family and co-workers become ill with influenza. The flu is a rite of passage for many of us. A few miserable days home in bed followed by several days of the blahs. But what are the implications to a busin...

Science and shoveling? The two might seem a comical pair since we're talking about one of the most basic tools used at work and at home. It's the entry-level piece of equipment some readers probably used when they first started working. I've also no...

Each year, MEMIC hosts a free conference for its policyholders, known as the MEMIC Comp Summit. The conference, held at the Grand Summit Hotel at Sunday River Resort in Newry, Maine, boasts annual attendance of about 500. This year's conference is se...

Every once in a while I get someone who sends along their views and thoughts that are worth passing along. This is such a case. It comes from Henry Reynolds who works at MEMIC as a safety management consultant with many of our manufacturing and indu...

It's well-known among workplace safety geeks that one of the most frequent hazards employees encounter on a daily basis involves driving a vehicle. This includes not only risk for those who drive for a living, as well as those with incidental driving...

As everyone knows, we are in an economic upheaval like we've never seen. We've reached the point where the government is involved in a Wall Street bailout of epic proportions. If larger companies are going bankrupt or being bought out at bargain base...

This is the time of the year when many homeowners prepare for the coming winter by stockpiling firewood. There’s always a large contingent who cut up their own firewood as part of this annual ritual, and those folks likely will use a chainsaw t...

The title above may sound like a contradiction. But actually, examining an accident in detail—and this includes the minor ones and even near misses, too—can provide valuable insight and ultimately prevention techniques. Unfortunately, ma...

“The right tool for the job” is an old saying. And it turns out it’s a good safety saying too. Although it may conjure up a construction or manufacturing setting, there isn’t a workplace where it doesn’t ring true. One ...

I have a pretty good idea that a number of you will read this post’s title and say “that's crazy.” I honestly have to say I thought the same thing when I was first introduced to the idea of an employee stretch program years ago. I ...